Kat's Review of Angel of Death by Ben Cheetham

A former prostitute turns to murder in order to take revenge on the men who abused her.

Sheffield: a bankrupt businessman has murdered his family. It seems like an open-and-shut case: a desperate man resorting to desperate measures.

Middlesbrough: a woman named Angel is heading south. She is a woman alone, a prostitute and now a murderer. And she has only one thing on her mind: revenge.

Two crimes, a hundred miles apart, but a terrible secret connects them. And although the courts may not agree, DI Jim Monahan has all the proof he needs to bring down justice on a group of particularly vicious criminals...

My Review: Ben Cheetham has released a number of books and short stories, however the only one I had read was entitled Blood Guilt. When I heard that he had this new one coming out I was keen to read it and see if it was as good as the last one. Not only was it just as good, it was even better! The covers are pretty appealing too for those that are still reading the paperback or hardcover copies. From Page 1 to the very end my attention was held, and my emotions played with. It seemed that Cheetham was determined to up the ante in terms of plot, characters and sheer pace.

Angel is a young girl with a severely tragic and broken past. She is now a prostitute and she finally snaps leaving her with only revenge in her mind. She was a great character and I empathised with her immediately. The book highlights in graphic detail the horrors she has been subjected to, and as a reader it doesn’t take too long for you to get behind her and almost begin to understand how people cross the line of the law.

Jim Monohan is a DI who has been round the block a few times. I liked Jim although he was a little on the clichéd side. He is investigating a crime where a bankrupt business man has murdered his family. Although seemingly a simple case to the police, Jim knows there is more to the case than meets the eye. The first few chapters alone were incredibly interesting and I was drawn in from the get go. I read this in a day and a half and was gutted to finally finish it.

The story and pace alone deserves a fantastic rating, but adding in the characters and plot threads it made for an absolutely fantastic read. I dithered over what rating to give it and was going to give it 5/5 but because the copper character just didn’t cut the mustard I had to drop it down to a 4/5. However, the book had everything else I would want from a book like this and more. This was an outstanding read and one that I think deserves a bit more exposure. If you haven’t read Ben Cheetham, I would highly recommend both the books I have read. Another great book and I will definitely look forward to the next one!